Feds near decision on recognition of Juanenos

Sept. 9, 2010

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Juaneno factional leader Anthony Rivera poses in a tribal office in San Juan Capistrano next to a portrait of Clarence Lobo, the tribe's chief from 1942 to 1985. The Juaneno tribe is seeking federal recognition. EUGENE GARCIA, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

David Belardes, third from left, and members of his Acjachemen tribal faction sing traditional songs and prayers at the Montañez Adobe in San Juan Capistrano during a dedication last month. PAUL BERSEBACH, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

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Dennis Sommers uses the smoke from burning sage to purify the grounds of the Montañez Adobe at Los Rios Park in San Juan Capistrano last month. Sommers is a member of an Acjachemen tribal faction led by Anthony Rivera. PAUL BERSEBACH, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

Juaneno factional leader Anthony Rivera poses in a tribal office in San Juan Capistrano next to a portrait of Clarence Lobo, the tribe's chief from 1942 to 1985. The Juaneno tribe is seeking federal recognition. EUGENE GARCIA, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – After nearly three decades of seeking federal recognition, a divided Juaneño Band of Mission Indians could get a final answer in the next few weeks.

If the Juaneños – also known as the Acjachemen Nation – become a tribe in the eyes of the federal government, the group will be recognized as a sovereign nation. This means it would be allowed to buy land anywhere in the United States for a reservation, where it could govern itself, get federal aid for things such as education and health care and, under federal law, be allowed to build a casino.

Fleming's letter was in response to a request in early August by Anthony Rivera, the leader of one Juaneño tribal faction – there are at least two – seeking additional time for the Juaneños to submit more documentation supporting their bid for recognition.

In rejecting Rivera's request, Fleming noted in his Aug. 17 letter that his office is in the last 60 days of the decision-making process and that tribal representatives and petitioners may not contact any department officials during that period.

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking an update.

Rivera did not return a call seeking comment. But a statement posted on his faction's website said, in part: "The denial of the tribe's request is one of many examples over the last 160 years of the U.S. violation of the tribe's due process and rights as an Indian tribe. Moreover, this action does not negate the facts that the tribe completely complies with all seven criteria of federal acknowledgement."

In the statement, Rivera is quoted as saying, "The Tribal Council remains focused on the department's final determination on our petition for federal acknowledgment, and we are confident that the department will correctly determine that the Acjachemen Nation should gain federal recognition."

The leader of another faction, David Belardes, also could not be reached for comment.

In 2007, the Bureau of Indian Affairs dealt the Juaneños a setback in their continuing effort to become a federally recognized American Indian tribe, saying the group did not meet four of the seven criteria.

The finding indicated that if the group could not provide more evidence, it would not be considered a tribe under federal law.

The standards the tribe did not meet, according to the 2007 report:

• Providing evidence that the community at large has recognized them as a tribe on a continuous basis since the 1900s. That criterion can be satisfied through newspaper articles, for example. According to the report, the Juaneños could only supply the bureau with data from 1997.

• Proving they are a historically distinct tribe (in their case, with links to Mission San Juan Capistrano).

• Demonstrating they have a functioning, autonomous government structure.

• Proving that enough of their current members are descendants of an American Indian tribe.

The Juaneños are scattered throughout Orange County. The tribe's ancestral homeland generally spanned from the Santa Ana Mountains to the coast and from Oceanside in the south to Seal Beach in the north.

According to the bureau's website, there are 564 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives in the United States.

Jerry Nieblas, a Juaneño member involved in tribal meetings for more than 30 years, said the quest for recognition has brought a fracturing of the tribe.

"Attempting federal recognition has brought negativity, division, secrecy, name-calling, arrogance, threats and disruptive conduct," Nieblas said via e-mail. "This resulted in five groups/factions from what used to be one.

"Receiving federal recognition and all its benefits would be great for the tribe," he said. "However, my family has no interest in any kind of financial gain. We are still a part of the tribe, regardless of its financial status."

JUANENO HISTORY

Artifacts indicate that the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians has occupied Orange County's coast for at least 9,000 years. Its territory ranged from the old mouth of the San Gabriel River near Seal Beach south to Las Flores Creek on Camp Pendleton and inland about 30 miles.

1910: A Bureau of Indian Affairs survey identifies 15 Acjachemen in San Juan Capistrano. The number doesn't include Chief Jose Duram and others who were afraid to come forward.

1979: Acjachemen descendants form a political unit called Juaneño Band of Mission Indians. Only those listed on or descendants of those listed on rolls of a 1933 California Indian census and who have at least one-eighth Juaneño blood are recognized; 800 enroll.

1982: Juaneño Band notifies Bureau of Indian Affairs it will petition for recognition.

1992: 1,500 enrolled as Band members.

1993: State recognizes the Juaneño Band.

1994: Schism develops over elections and leadership.

2005: Three groups represent themselves as tribal authority.

Sources: The Orange County Register; "Chinigchinich,'' a history of the Acjachemen by the Rev. Geronimo Boscano; The Smithsonian Institution's "Handbook of North American Indians''; Acjachemen petition for federal recognition

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